Running back Carlos Hyde said Saturday’s medial collateral ligament sprain felt a lot worse than the one he experienced in college at Ohio State. The season-ending injury left him 12 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season, and that “gives me more motivation to hit the ground hard and get ready for 2017,” Hyde said Wednesday.

Hyde did not question the low hit to his knee from Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines. Hyde won’t require surgery, adding: “It’s good that it’s the offseason that I can take my time letting it heal and ease back into running.”

Hyde is in line for a contract extension as his rookie deal ends in 2017. “I haven’t talked to them about that or gotten any vibe from them,” Hyde said. “The only thing on my mind is to get my knee better. I’ll let my agent handle that.”

Hyde blamed his knee and 2015 foot injuries as an “unfortunate part of the game,” but he noted that he should have bulked up his shoulder more to protect him from falls like the one he had in Oct. 16 that sidelined him two ensuing games.

“I’m definitely going to come back light but still strong and able to run through somebody,” said Hyde, noting he played this season at about 230 pounds.

— Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who got fired from his two previous NFL head-coaching spots with the Jets and Patriots, believes teams should exercise patience with coaches.

“Sometimes people act quickly and they get to do what they want to do because they’re the owners and they’re the ones pulling the strings,” Carroll said on a conference call with Bay Area media. “But we all just get so much better at this as we work at it. I’m a pretty good indication of that, I think.”

That could support the 49ers retaining Chip Kelly after a rough first season. Carroll said of Kelly: “He’s an extremely successful coach. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been at the top the game when he’d had his opportunities and he’s shown it in the NFL and college.”